Car roof



Aug. 24, 1926. 1,597,041r

c. D. BoNsALL CAR ROOF Filed April 21, 1926 Patented Aug. 24, 1926.A

narran stares PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO P. IPI. MURPHY COMPANY, OF NEW KENSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR ROOF.

Application filed. April 21, 1926.

Heretofore single course carroofs have been made wherein the margins of the sheets were shaped and riveted together to function as hollow carlines. lNhile this construction is highly meritorious, the amount of riveting that it requires makes it expensive, in the first instance, and particularly7 difficult and expensive to repair, Accordingly, itis the principal object of. the present invention to devise a construction which will approximate the advantages of lower first cost and much greater facility of repair. The invention consists principally in a seam construction wherein the marginal portions of adjacent sheets are formed into hollow ribs or inverted channels of different depths nested together and with a Wooden filler interposed between them; also in securing said filler to said ribs separately by bolts which pass through said filler and some of which pass through one rib and some through the other rib.

In the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through a car roof embodying my invention, the section being taken between seams;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section through one-half of the roof, the section being taken through one of the seams; and

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged crosssections through one of the seams on the lines 3 3, 4 i, and 5 5, respectively in Fig. 2.

The accompanying drawing illustratesthe roof portion of a car comprising angular side plates l, and metal roof sheets 2, which span from side plate to side plate and have their end portions resting upon said side plates, to which they are secured preferably by rivets 3. One side marginal port-ion of a roof sheet is pressed into the form of a comparatively low hollow rib l or shallow inverted channel of even height throughout almost the full length of the sheet but having its end portions tapering to the plane of the sheet at the end thereof. The opposite marginal portion of said sheet is likewise formed into a hollow rib 5 or inverted channel whose end portion is higher than the low rib 4c of the first mentioned margin of the sheet and which increases gradually to a maximum height at the ridge of the car. Preferably the sheet is pressed from a rectangular blank, and the extreme marginal Serial No. 103,424.

portion 6 beyond the higher rib is left in the plane of the body of the sheet in the form of a horizontal flange whose width is greatest at the ends of the sheet and decreases to a minimum atthe ridge .where the higher rib is of the greatest height. Both ribs or inverted channels taper somewhat upwardly and, in the plane of the body of the sheets the two ribs are of substantially the same widthl By this arrangement, the higher rib of one sheet will nest over the lower rib of an adjacent sheet of the same design so as to cooperate therewith after the manner of a carline.

In order to stiften and strengthen the seam construction, a wooden filler strip or strips 7 of pyramidal form are used in such space. Such filler strips or blocks are preferably first secured to the upper rib 5 by means of bolts 8 which extend downwardly through the top of the upper rib andthe filler blocks and are secured by nuts 9 threaded onto the lower ends of said bolts, the lower surface of said blocks being recessed so that neither the nuts nor the bolts will project below the lower surface of such blocks.y One such bolt near the ridge on each side thereof and another near'each eaves portion of the car (four in all) are sufficient to secure the filler to the upper rib. The filler blocks are secured to the lower ribs'4 in a similar manner: that is, bolts l0 whose heads lie in recesses in the upper surface of the filler blocks extend downwardly through said filler blocks and the tops of the lower ribs and are secured by means of nuts 1l on the projecting threaded ends of such bolts. In this case also, one bolt near the ridge on each side thereof and another near each eaves portion of the car (four in all) are sufficient to secure the filler block to the lower rib. Obviously, in the arrangement -described, the last mentioned set of bolts should be passed through the filler block before the first mentioned bolts; but a different sequence of 0perations might result from a different arrangement of fasteners.

Preferably the bolts that extend through the top of the upper rib serve to hold the running board saddle l2 which, in the form shown, comprises a sheet metal plate of .Z-y

section, with the lower flange 13, through which the securing bolts extend, inclined to conform to the pitch of the roof, and

ness orn repair; tor, to replace a sheet.` it is unnecessary to shear any rivets (whielrentails risk of entlang' and there no need tor a y riveting'l apparatus in making the reililaceinent.

That I claim is:

l. A'seam"construction for car roolscomprising hollow ribs formed in the margins of adjacent sheets. said ribs being' ot dit'- v ferent heights and nested together with a filler member interposed between them.

2. A seam construction toi' car roots coinprising hollow ribs formed in the margins ot adjacent sheets, said ribs being' ot ditferent heightsand nested together with aL filler member interposed between them, said filler member being' secured to the upper sheet by fasteners that are wholly above the lower sheetand to the lower sheet by 'las- :teners that are wholly below the upper sheet.

3. A oar root comprising' roof sheets ei:- tending' from side to side ot the cai' and r1 F i the sound sheet) having' their side marginal' portions 'formed into hollow ribs that nest together, the upper rib being' higher than the lower rib and the space between them beingoccupied by a lillei' to which each rib is' secured separately.

43A car roof comprising,` roof sheets eX- tending'` from side to side of the car and having' theirside marginal portions formed into hollow ribs that nest together, the upper rib be'ing'hig'her than the y,lower rib rand the space'between them being' ocoupiedpby a` Vfiller to which each rib is secured separately, the means for securing said ribs respectively to said filler constitutingthe sole means-roi"securing said ribs together.

5. A car root comprising.' root sheets extending' from side to side of the cai' and having); theirside marginal portion formed into hollow trat-topped ribs with upwardly coni writing' sides, the sidesfofthe upper ribs fitting" against the' sides'o't the lower ribs,"

but the tops ot said ribs being spaced'apart.

(. cai' rootI comprising roo-tsh'eets'eiitendine; from side to side of the carandv having' then' side marginal portions: torine'd' into hollow ribs that are lapped to forni sean'is, the lower ribs being' ot' substantially uniform height 'troni end' to end oft the'ishe'ets and the upper ribs being' ofg'reater'height at the ridge ot the car" than' at th'eeaves thereof.

Signed atlflew Kensington, Pa., this 16th day ot April, 1926'.

oHARLns DAVID' BoN'sALL". 

